Ripley Hill Road barn collapse
Courtesy: Borodino Bullet
SPAFFORD -- When you work on a farm, you're used to working long days. But late last night, one the barns collapsed on the Birdsall farm in the Town of Spafford and they had a full night of work ahead of them.
Dennis Birdsall said, "Honestly, what I think is that we were really lucky. This is our smallest group of cows, only 35 cows in here."
But last night when the Birdsalls came home from a night out, they weren't feeling so lucky. They saw their barn practically flattened.
"I got in under there, there were some still sanding with the roof above them and so that's when we started calling everyone and their neighbor," said Birdsall.
The Spafford fire department also responded to this enormous project.
Rick Wise, Assistant Chief of the Spafford Fire Department said, "Our biggest concern at the time was how many of the cows were still left inside, if they were alive or dead."
So they started picking apart the barn.
"With a chainsaw we pulled the medal and got them up one by one," said Birdsall.
By Sunday night, most of the cows were grazing in the nearby field. Others will need some veterinary care. The Birdsalls say they already have a plan for a new home for the cows.
Birdsall said, "We actually built a new barn so that's how we'll get away with it. We've got space and well make it work for the rest of the winter."
This is the second barn collapse in the area in one week. Spafford fire department officials say pole barns are more susceptible to buckling under the heavy snow.
"They're usually wide spans lots of surface area where the snow can accumulate and become quite a load," said Wise.
For the Birdsalls, they were just thankful they had so much help picking up the pieces. "It's very humbling. It's nothing a few of us could have done."
The birdsalls are keeping a close watch on four of their cows who may have suffered injuries in the collapse. They estimate each one of their beef cattle to be worth $1,200 $1,400.
EARLIER VERSION:
Firefighters from Spafford and Borodino responded to a barn collapse on Ripley Hill Road in the Town of Spafford around 10 pm Saturday. Equipment was also brought in from the Town of Scott
Firefighters, the owners of the barn and neighbors worked for three hours to free more than two dozen cows from the collapsed pole barn. One cow was injured.
Heavy snow on the roof is blamed for the collapse.
